Hi everyone! This chapter takes place during Thor: the Dark World, and it explains why Tony wasn't around to help Thor and Jane save reality from the crazy machinations of Malekith. (I have no idea if you can actually get cell phone reception where Tony and Pepper go hiking below though…) Sorry for being slow to update—I keep working Saturdays and then the weekend's gone and I don't have time to edit!—but I've got a lot of fun Pepperony stuff coming up soon, including a one-shot that takes place just before this chapter, so stay tuned for that. Thanks for your reviews, and I'll see you again soon!
Disclaimer: I own no part of the Marvel Universe, just fanart and feels. On a related note, please check out my DeviantArt for more Pepperony fanart. (There's a link in my profile. :))
Vacation
Tony sighed. He hadn't actually been on a vacation since just after the Battle of New York, so he didn't even mind that Pepper's idea of a relaxing time was taking a hike before sunrise. Okay, so he did mind a little bit.
"You know, I'm starting to think that you waited to bring us here until after I blew up all my suits," Tony said. "Because I used to have metal suits that could fly."
"Yes, you keep reminding me," Pepper said cheerfully. "But now, we are on vacation, and we're walking somewhere to look at something. Like people do when they're on vacation. Also, you just had heart surgery, and walking is a great way for you to get some low-impact exercise."
Tony let her pull him along the trail they were following, which passed through a bamboo forest. "Technically though, we're on a mountain. Mountain climbing is not low-impact exercise."
"We are on a plateau on top of a mountain," Pepper reminded him. "No actual climbing is going on here."
"But we are moving before sunrise," Tony pointed out. "That has to count as extra exertion, exercise-wise."
"You never complain when we have sex before sunrise," Pepper said, smiling at him.
"Yeah, and if we could go hiking while naked and in bed, I'd probably enjoy it more," Tony said, grinning when Pepper splashed him in the face with her water bottle. He chased her down the path, both of them laughing in the predawn darkness.
They'd chosen Hawai'i for their vacation destination, since it was about as far from alien invasions and Extremis-powered maniacs as either of them could imagine. They were on the big island, but at the moment, Tony didn't know where specifically on that island they were. It occurred to Tony that he would know exactly where they were if he'd remembered to grab his phone from the house they were renting, except of course he hadn't, because Pepper had pulled him out of bed around 4am. So now they were walking alone up a hiking trail in the dark. After everything they'd been through in the past year, Tony couldn't help but think how ironic it would be if they fell off a cliff while hiking in Hawai'i.
"Almost there," Pepper said, checking a map on her phone. Tony had his arm around her waist, and he leaned in closer, kissing her neck while trying to sneak a peek at the screen.
"Nope," Pepper said, returning her phone to her pocket. "This is supposed to be a surprise."
"Can I just borrow your phone really fast? Then I can see where we're going and pretend to be surprised when we get there."
"No," Pepper said, laughing. "How long has it been since you were away from an electronic device for more than five minutes?"
"Y2K?" Tony guessed. "I mean, not that it actually happened, but Happy thought it did. Long story. But I don't remember having a phone on me that night. I think Happy was afraid that cell phones would explode..."
"See, this is why I'm suggesting that maybe you go a couple of hours away from electronics every decade or so," Pepper said.
"Maybe," Tony acknowledged. "Guess it couldn't hurt to try."
After a few more minutes of hiking past trees and shrubs, Pepper started to slow down. She smiled at Tony, then took his hand as she led him over the last hill. They reached the end of the trail just before sunrise. It was still the dark of predawn under the trees, but the sky was lightening from gray to pale blue. Across the expanse before them, there were tall cliffs green with foliage, and narrow waterfalls plummeted down hundreds of feet into the valley below.
"...whoa," Tony said, genuinely surprised by the sudden panorama. "Nice view."
"This is Waipi'o Valley," Pepper explained. "I figured that even you would be impressed by the view."
Tony nodded, and they looked out over the expanse. They sat for a while, just looking at the cliffs and the waterfalls and the sky as it slowly brightened with the sunrise, and Tony had to admit that it was pretty great, just sitting silently with the woman he loved more than anyone, her head on his shoulder and no buzzing phone to worry about...
They stayed for a half hour or so, drinking coffee from a thermos Pepper produced from her bag. All in all, Tony had to admit that there were worse reasons to get up before sunrise, though he still preferred staying in bed with Pepper to hiking.
"Pepper," Tony said as they were walking back down the trail. "Thanks for bringing us here."
"You're very welcome," she said, then kissed him until her phone buzzed. "Happy," she said.
"Tell him I voluntarily took a hike before sunrise," Tony said, and Pepper smirked as she answered.
"Hey, Happy...what?" Pepper said, raising her eyebrows and glancing at Tony. "No, what happened in London?"
"Ugh," Tony groaned. "Because of course, the second I take a vacation..."
"Okay, we'll look—bye," Pepper said, then clicked through several screens on her phone. "According to CNN, there was some kind of attack in London."
"Terrorists?" Tony asked, looking over her shoulder.
"...aliens," Pepper said, clicking on an image of some strange monolith emerging out of the sky. Then she scrolled ahead and stopped on an image of Thor hitting something with his hammer. "Let's see…minor injuries, damage to some landmarks, but no fatalities. I guess Thor stopped them, whoever they were."
"Oh, good," Tony said, relaxing. "So I don't need to rush home and build stuff to fight whatever it was."
"...should we go home?" Pepper said at last. She didn't sound too eager.
"According to this, whatever happened in London's over now," Tony said, nodding at the story. "Let's see, other dimensions...alien energy signatures...huh, Dr. Foster and Dr. Selvig were there. No, those guys handled it. Let's go swimming today."
Pepper chuckled. "I guess everything's okay...it's just another one of those days when we're reminded that aliens exist."
"And sometimes they come to earth, but then the Avengers stop them," Tony said. "Yeah, when we get back, I gotta get going on those Mark LXIII specs..."
"When we get home, not before," Pepper said firmly, taking his hand as they kept walking. "We're still on vacation for three more days. Although I'd better have PR issue a statement about why you weren't in London..."
"I'm not CEO anymore," Tony pointed out. "Your PR department shouldn't have to explain where I am."
"Right, except Tony Stark still works for Stark Industries, and everyone knows you're Iron Man, and people are going to wonder where you were when aliens invaded—again," Pepper said, letting go of his hand to type.
Tony put his arm around her. "Just say Iron Man's on vacation, but obviously the "god" of Thunder took care of things in London. What's the point of being on a team if you can't tap out and let someone else in the ring sometimes?"
"I think you're mixing your team analogy with a boxing analogy," Pepper said, smiling when he kissed her on the cheek.
"There are boxing teams, right?"
"I don't think so," Pepper said, finishing her e-mail and pocketing her phone. "So, what do you want to do for breakfast?"
"I liked this surprise, so why don't you pick breakfast and I'll handle lunch," Tony said.
"Are you going to make us something we can take to the beach?" Pepper said.
"Don't try to guess, it's a surprise," Tony said. And since Thor and co. clearly had the world-saving stuff handled, Tony was already thinking about more ways he and Pepper could enjoy the rest of their vacation...